Sandrock Investments
by Junnasi
Summary: A/U. Quatre has always remembered the girl who saved him from bullies but had always been too shy. Now that's he grown up, will he make a move?
1. Sandrock Investments 1

Another fic! Obvious 4xD. It's amusing because I'm primarily a 1xR supporter ever since I started to read wayyy back but recently 4xD just drew to me and how well the two can actually be together, plus they have many elements that are good for story lines. I find a lack of 4xD hence I'm actually writing to my own surprise and for all 4xD lovers. There certainly a good amount of 1xR.

Disclaimer: Do I really need to say I don't own this except for the ideas of this story. Won't even need to write if I own it right?

A/U Quatre is a wealthy investor and always had one unrequited love. Setting is base on earth with references of fictional places and ppl from Wing. I usually like to write as close as possible to character that I can imagine happening. Only slightly changed Quatre background a bit. The fic would be only two to three chapters the most.

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**Sandrock Investments**

Quatre sat at the quaint coffee shop though he was not a fan of drinking coffee, he usually order tea. He liked going to this shop to escape the busy streets of the financial district in Manhattan, New York. It was warm and comfortable with a pleasant hum of chatter. He was dressed in brown pants, a white shirt with a grey vest over top, reading the Financial Times.

He bent a corner of the paper down to watch who came in through the doors of the cafe and noticed the person across from him reading an editorial paper with the front page title: _Sandrock Investments: Leading the Way. _Quatre eyes return to reading his paper.

He flips through the paper and from time to time and took a sip of his tea. The chime to the front door sounded frequently and he would often ignore it but when he heard the sound again, breaking through his reading, he glanced up to see a women with prominence step through the doors and he ogle. He always felt her entry, like a gravitational pull and he could only swallow and watch her commandingly stroll towards the cashier.

There was another reason why he frequents this coffee shop. One day when he came in to buy tea and saw her there and realized that she often came to this shop, he automatically became a regular as well. At first, he gauge the times she came. When he knew better, he usually arrived around the same time frame as her, but always earlier. She actually did not come every day but three times a week, so he did too, after a month of observation. He resorted to hiding himself in the corner or side, his nose behind a newspaper so she would not see him. He had always been a shy guy. He knew it was about time to make an appearance and pretend that everything was an accident seeing her again after so long. He wondered did she even remember him.

He watched as she ordered her coffee and sat at a nearby table. To his amusement, she also pulls out another paper with a similar headline to the guy across from him reading, except this one read: _Rising King of Stocks: Sandrock Investments. _But for her case, she was actually reading the front news.

He took a long glance at her and decided that today he will make his presence known. Folding the paper and putting it into his suitcase, he picked up his tea and walked over to her table, feeling his blood starting to quicken. Just when he was near, she looked up and their glazes locked.

For a moment she scrutinized him and Quatre froze on the spot, feeling every bit examined. Her eyes convey that she had met him from somewhere before till recognition was there and her brows clear.

With a thudding heart, he broke the airy stillness. "Hi Dorothy, do you remember me?"

Dorothy T. Catalonia gives Quatre a genuine smile and he nearly blushed. She gestured for him to take the seat across from her and he immediately sits noting that it was a bit too hard to stand. He looked down and back at her. His shy behaviour had not left him completely though he was now a young adult.

"Yes, I do. It has been so long Quatre Winner." The way she said his name made his heart skip a beat. His insides were quietly celebrating that she still remembered him. All hope was not lost here.

"Yes, how long has it been? And you look lovely," which sounded choke out. Way to ask a question and complement her looks Quatre, he thought.

"Oh, thank you. I say at least seven years?" That was so long, Quatre did not know how he harbour a secret crush for her after this many years without realizing it. Actually he knew, but felt she was unattainable back then.

"It has hasn't it? Time flies. High school did fly by really fast without us realizing it." Quatre felt that was a very dead reply on his part. They had attended the same high school. Some private institution named St. Gabriel in Europe, renown for having students around the globe, usually either the rich or the ones with brain. Quatre was in the latter category because his family was not wealthy, middle-range income. With twenty-nine other sisters, it was a toll for his father. Quatre had managed for himself a scholarship into the private high school or else he would never have attended.

Giving one last good look at the headline news and back at Quatre, Dorothy set the newspaper aside and asked, "So what do you do now?"

Quatre fumbling for words said, "I am a ..," not wanting to disclose all the details he merely replied, "a banker."

Dorothy raised an eye-brow. "Interesting. Not surprising when you were the genius of the school?"

Quatre looked down, slightly blushing to be reminded of his high school days. He always hated the attention and considered himself a reserve person. "I just did reasonably well."

Dorothy snorted delicately. She remembered Quatre, he usually studied by himself and achieved A grades. She noticed him a lot in the library. Thinking back then, she had thought he was quite attractive. She scolded herself to having such thoughts but looking at him now, he was a grown man and her mind also added, quite handsome. She kept a straight face from letting her thoughts betray her. She even remembered other boys picking on him and she had interceded to tell the boys to leave him alone.

Quatre could tell Dorothy was reflecting on the past. There was no need to ask what Dorothy was doing since he knew all about her. She came from a long line of wealthy Catalonias' and was considered the popular girl back at school. Her family ran a big organization known as the Romefeller Foundation with one of the main offices in Manhattan. Her father was in charge of that branch and she was his only daughter so she was spoiled considerably. He knew even boys were intimidated by her. Though their conversations, if any, were short, Quatre remembered all their encounters. Especially the time when he was picked on and called a nerd for sitting in the library all the time. Least expected, Dorothy had rescue him, and she probably never knew he had a secret crush on her ever since.

The memories of his high school days were not the greatest. He grew up considerably by university and his working days now but he was still shy to a point. He decided to steer clear away from the emphasis of his youth. "Do you still talk to Relena?"

Relena was the best friend of Dorothy all throughout high school. Her father was the Minister of Foreign Affairs for one of the European countries, Quatre forgot which. Quatre always felt at odds to be surrounded by the rich and powerful offspring though his father kept telling him he was bound to be rich one day too if he caught one of the ladies eyes. Too bad his father did not know just how shy and intimidated Quatre was back then.

Dorothy eyes lit up with the mentioning of her friend. "Yes, I do. She is still my best friend."

"How is she doing?"

"She's going to be heading in the same direction as her father. Claims she knows most of the world affairs having travelled multiple times with him. She's a speaker, it be perfect for her."

Quatre nodded, remembering that fellow students did not cross the pair and with their backgrounds, the other boys didn't dare to double cross them. He even remembered that Relena had an older brother, Milliardo, boys totally did not cross him, and some followed him like a leader. He was tall and always looked like he can beat the crap out of you but he was no bully. He was certainly protective of his sister.

Voluntarily, Dorothy added, "Her brother is married."

Quatre perked up.

Dorothy had a reasoning look. "You must remember, Lucrezia Noin?"

Quatre nodded in recognition of the name.

She continued, "Yes, the one that never stopped following him around. Well, not a bad catch at all if I must do say so myself."

This brought Dorothy to add, "Are you seeing someone Quatre?" Quatre startled, left Dorothy with an amusing mischievous glint in her eyes.

Quatre was mentally kicking himself for failing to initiate most of the talking, but allowing Dorothy to, and letting him catch him off guard. She was always the better conversationalist.

Quatre shook his head and his blonde hair went side to side. "No." And left the rest of his thoughts hanging.

Dorothy drum her fingers at the side of her face and Quatre heart quicken again.

"Really?" She eyed him. "A man as handsome as you is all grown up, loss your baby face but the innocence is still there. You have a steady job no doubt but no one?" She asked again.

Quatre nodded to her again and even piped in, "Never had." He felt the heat rising to his face. The way she said it made him felt like a loser. But she called him handsome! Something sparked inside of him. And what about her, he wondered but too afraid to ask.

She glaze at him for a moment longer before withdrawing her hand from her face and sat up straight saying, "That totally alright, I am not dating either."

The back of Quatre mind literally shouted Bingo but he kept his complexion straight. His heart was pumping so fast he knew he had better go but he needed to find a way to see her again.

"I'm sorry Dorothy," he made a show of looking down at his watch, "But I am going to need to head back to work soon. Do you frequent this shop?" He asked though he already knew.

"Yes, I do. I will be back this Wednesday."

"I would be happy to chat with you again Wednesday if it's around this same time?"

She smiled; that Quatre really wonder was he that readable now so he feign defenses. "If you cannot then that will be alright with me." His heart was beating even faster now. He needed to get out.

"I'll be glad to."

Quatre started to rise.

"It was a pleasure Quatre Winner." Dorothy stood up and offer her hand and he notice a card.

He took the card and shook her hand, "Pleasure is all mine." Shaking her hand was a bad idea because the contact nearly made his knees bend.

Dorothy had an amuse look on her face. "Feel free to contact me." She watched as Quatre bolted out the door before she look down at the newspaper and sat.

Quatre didn't stop till he was safely through the front door of his home. He lean back against the door and reminded himself of how to breathe as his legs give way and he slid down to the ground.

He pull up his knees and rested his arms on it while he lower his head. Seeing Dorothy had made him a wimp again. He didn't know how she managed to do that to him. He steadily pick himself back up again and walked towards his home office at the back.

The house was decent size, modern and renovated when Quatre moved in less than a year ago. He lived alone seeing that he had left his home country to explore the greater depths of the world and now live in this chaotic city. Lucky for him, he made enough to cover the costs of this modest home in Manhattan.

Tossing his briefcase down, he sat down on his office chair and calm himself with seeing familiar items in the room. Across from his office desk were two big flat screen monitors displaying the stock market. One side held a clear white board in which he did calculations to make his own decisions while next to was a collection of portfolio files stuck to the wall. He had two flat computer screens in front of him that lit up when it recognize movement. It was only there that the name Sandrock Investments appear and he key in the entry. After that he put his elbows on the desk and rested his head at the hands and rethought of the events that occur.

Quatre realize his hand was holding on to something. He forgot, in his state of frenzy that he crushed Dorothy business card. He flatten out the card and looked intently at the information. He already knew everything that was on the card. She worked right at the city center at Romefeller Tower that reach high up the Manhattan skyline; no doubt to succeed at its head once her father step down. But all he did was sit and stared at the card, considering the probabilities.

Wednesday came by and the conversation continued between Quatre and Dorothy. Though he was still nervous, Quatre collectively brought himself back together and by Friday they were having conversations like old friends. He was very happy for this development. He believed Dorothy knew or remember he was shy and probably afraid of her a bit so she lower her guard and spoke eloquently. Quatre was reminded of her hot temper when a phone call came in and she was displeased with whoever was reporting to her of some result.

By the end of the week, Quatre knew he needed to make a move or at least do something because they couldn't be just dating at the coffee shop. He knew Dorothy did not expect him to have free time to sit and chat every other day.

When it came down to leaving on Friday and Quatre had agreed to see her again on Monday, Dorothy had question, "Are you sure you are able to? Don't you have to work in? I guess your boss does not care if you leave." She smile.

Quatre smile in return. Not in any way divulging that he was his own self-boss and would make all arrangements to see her instead of sitting at his home all day monitoring financial movements said, "I take it as my break time too," as they were heading out. He noticed the guy next to the front door was reading a newspaper with the title: _Making the game of stocks look simple: Sandrock Investments._

"Oh really, you have half an hour break time too? I thought bankers were over worked. I do hope you are not staying in later just to chat with me now."

"Not at all," he reassured her, "Not at all." And they parted ways.

Weekend follow and Quatre rubbed his eyes for staring at the screen for too long. He looked down at his papers, all scrawl with numbers and charts. Setting down his pen, he leaned back on his comfortable seat and shut his eyes.

He couldn't stop thinking about her.

Seeing her this past week had totally blossom that small crush of his to a full blown love he knew all along. Did she really felt nothing? He thought or hope she did.

It was hard concentrating on his work this past week because his thoughts kept drifting back to their meetings. How she would sit, what she wore, her calm composure to his on the edginess, how she would actually laugh, and her easiness to converse. She was a good speaker, with a mind on her own and he liked that about her.

Which came back to the biggest problem at hand he suspected of all his male counterparts, how to express his feelings to the one he really want. He knew it was not rocket science. If he weren't tongue tie every time they met and less afraid...

He squeeze his eyes tighter as if in bad memory then open them and quickly brought up information on Dorothy Catalonia. He switched one of the mounted screens to a large computer screen and randomly shifted pictures of her. She was in the news as a well known socialite. But he quickly grew frustrated having seen those pictures multiple times and switched the screen into the news channel.

Coincidently, the news focus shifted to celebrities talk and he never expected to hear was to follow.

The bottom line read, 'Who's the mystery boy?' and the women reporter went on to say,

"_Who the mystery boy? The heir apparent to Romefeller Foundation headquarters in Manhattan, Dorothy Catalonia, was spotted getting cozy with an unknown boy at a nearby coffee shop close to her office." _

At this point, Quatre stare in horror as two pictures were flashed on screen taken by paparazzi outside. Thankfully, they didn't sit right next to the windows seats so the pictures were not the clearest but Quatre could make himself out sitting across from Dorothy.

"_Some sources say that the two have been meeting for some time now, but who is this unidentified boy? Miss Catalonia, who is known to be around with people of her upper crust, is now associating with this fellow boy who may just be getting lucky? Or is he also part of the society?" _

The same two pictures resurface again, going in a zoom in zoom out phase.

_Dorothy Catalonia a renowned bachelorette who has actually never dated considering someone with her good looks and calibre would be quite a snatch if she isn't already. Maybe this is finally the lucky boy."_

The reporter move on to other celebrities news but Quatre just sat and stare. He really needed to make a move or change the venue for meeting with her. Because of his quiet nature, the press would not have his name at hand. He wasn't from some well-to-do family. And he certainly did not want to be found out at the moment, well he can, but he rather not yet.

He was indirectly in the attention of the media but his name was not yet identified. He was pretty sure it won't be long till the media realizes how he knew Dorothy so it was better to remain out of sight. Though he wanted to be what the reporter was suggesting, it probably be still awhile. He would take greater care of his actions and interactions around her.

He went back to work.

Arriving Monday he received a text from Dorothy asking whether he wanted to meet for dinner instead and he promptly accepted not wanting to meet at the coffee shop anymore. Looking up the location he realized that it was an upscale restaurant and that he probably needed to dress better for the occasion.

Arriving in a suit to the restaurant he told the front people of the reservation under Catalonia. One of the host told him to follow her and she lead him up the elevator and up to the 70th floor and walk further in. By this time Quatre could only admire the opulence around him though he had yet to indulge himself in it. He had considerable wealth by now but coming from his background, he had yet to accustom himself into high society lifestyle.

The staff led him to a private room at the back and he realized that Dorothy was already there. He nearly stopped to admire her. Dressed in a purple dress that clung to her just perfectly, he was happy he was not underdressed at that moment.

She rose to hug him and he almost dropped. The back of his mind was fantasizing that this whole meeting felt inconspicuously like a date.

Once they got seated though, she brushed aside all his thoughts of a dinner date.

"I don't know if you were aware, however, I have to apologize if associating with me have cause you any discomfort from your regular life."

He looked at her.

"If you did not notice, the usual pestering press has conjured stories of us being romantically link. Paparazzi snapped pictures of us at the coffee shop so that why I offer to meet up here, up high where no press will be. So once again, I apologize if socializing with me has disrupted a quiet life I know you probably prefer."

"Oh yes, I happen to saw that report to. It's alright; no one has yet identified me yet." He reassured her.

"It was only reported in one of the channels, not several but you never know the media. No worries, I will never give out your name you can be reassured."

It was amusing to know that Dorothy sense of hiding away from the press was to dine privately which Quatre and any unknowingly curious individual would think there was something totally going on.

They order their food and Quatre notice a newspaper next to Dorothy.

"You enjoy reading the news?" Quatre asked since he had noticed Dorothy carrying a paper around often when they saw each other.

She looked down and chuckle. "I do carry one around me don't I? No this was just offer by the restaurant as I waited for you."

"Oh, sorry -," Dorothy hand wave him aside. "No, its just complimentary for them to give something to their waiting guests." Dorothy explained indicating that he was quite on time.

She opens the newspaper and Quatre wished he had not brought it up.

Once again, the headline news titled: _Already a millionaire? Who is Sandrock Investment owner? _He was going to shoot the Financial Times soon.

"You must have been following the news?" Dorothy asked, expecting him to follow the financial news as a banker. "What do you think of story on whoever this person is?" She pointed to the word Sandrock. "Do you have any idea on who it may be?"

Quatre looked down at the paper and slowly felt a cold sweat going through him. He looked back up to Dorothy's concentrated face. He swallowed.


	2. Sandrock Investments 2

Enjoy!

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**Sandrock Investments **

He hoped he didn't hesitate for a second too long.

"Whoever he is, he's a very smart person." He ended it off there.

Dorothy, expecting to hear more on his opinion continued to give him a keen expression.

Looking up to Dorothy's expecting eyes, he sensed the need to say more. "I think he really does not want to be known. Probably for as long as he can." No! Why was he saying that, it wasn't even related to his opinion on the investor activity to what Dorothy is asking about.

"Why?"

"Millionaires don't wish to be robbed now right." He give her a pointed look reminding her that she was one herself. "Just exactly how you feel with the press bugging you. Sandrock guy is probably enjoying his freedom as much as he can before the press hounds on him."

"True that." Dorothy agreed. She asked, "How do you know it's a guy?"

A quick shiver went through Quatre on how to respond and he merely gulped. "I -" Dorothy cut him off, "Just kidding."

"To admit," she lifted the paper's front page up, "I have been personally following the news on this guy."

Quatre perked up to that. "You have?"

Dorothy give him an exasperated look. "Well who wouldn't, he nearly on the news every other day, escaping the media with ease and still able to continue growth. All the investors are snapping to copy his moves. He is asking for his own attention since he's buying up companies and the company wants to know what he does but he only forwards detail plans. He is very smart." Dorothy said with such praising that Quatre was happy inside.

He decided to give her his bolding plans. "Well from what I have seen and his track record, saying if his success is still on this winning streak, he has a shot to perhaps make up to a billion."

Dorothy looked at him. "How can you be so sure?"

He shrug. "Just an opinion". _What do you think you're doing, Quatre._

"How long do you think it will take to happen?"

He made a show of thinking though he already had all the calculations and predictions mapped out, but there was always a margin room for error. "Perhaps in about a month, maybe less. He is already in the millions now and knows what he is doing."

Dorothy laugh. He wonder what he said wrong. "You so confident in Sandrock boy. Actually, we don't even know how old he is." She eyed him.

He looked on nonchalantly and shrug to.

Dorothy folded the paper and set it aside while leaning in a bit, "I actually think that he is a very young man. And perhaps a shy one."

Quatre maintain a calm composure though his body slightly shiver to how accurate Dorothy is. _She can't possibly know._ "Why do you say that?"

Dorothy provided her insight on the investor's actions. "He has gone to such great pains to be unidentified. And why young? Just an opinion." She copied his words.

Quatre stiffly nodded, sensing a need to drop this interrogation soon. Thankfully the food arrived and Dorothy switched the topic regarding investing issues and business and Quatre offer her plenty of insights to that as an unknowingly expert.

"You are very knowledgeable in this." Dorothy said after Quatre talked greatly about finance.

"It's what I do best, right, a banker."

Dorothy smiled perhaps a little wicked.

He smiled back not knowing how to respond.

"If you weren't already working, I would consider hiring you into my company. Would you consider?"

Quatre eyes widen a bit. Oh! She would? At least, this shows she likes me he thought. _Just your friendly company. _Don't get too far ahead of yourself Quatre he scolded himself.

"I'm sure it is an exceptional place to work," Quatre said hearing that they had good benefits, "but I'm pretty tied up with my current job."

"Well that is too bad."

Towards the end of dinner, Dorothy invited Quatre to a charity event hosted by the Romefeller Foundation in three weeks and he accepted the invitation card because it was an exclusive invite event. Quatre could picture every donor dressed in finery, listening to speeches and presentation being made to remind how fortunate they are and the need to give back.

Back at his home office, Quatre did a thorough security covering on himself. Unknown to people, he knew how to hack computers. But he made sure to do everything within limits, avoiding and erasing all traces of him being there. Primarily he hacked to make sure they haven't had a shread of idea on who he was. Ever since the news with him and Dorothy he had another ground to cover. Though it was harder considering how he wanted to see Dorothy out in public. This is how he was able to shield Sandrock Investments's owner for so long. He exerted great lengths to not reveal himself while going under the alias of his name to conduct his work. He hid all his trades transaction, it wasn't insider trading, just that the last moment of trade he would make his move. Weary he headed upstairs to sleep.

Quatre did not see Dorothy till the end of the week. He didn't know how their friendship was processing or if Dorothy just view him as a friend. He knew friend-zone could be a bitch. Since the dinner, Dorothy had not contacted back and he was too afraid to be seen again to go to the coffee shop, so he invited her to another dinner at an upscale restaurant as well.

It was one of Dorothy's favourite restaurants. He done his research.

During the dinner she asked, "Quatre I never really got to know exactly where do you work?"

Quatre swallowed his slice of chicken. Wondering what the best way to answer, he decided to be truthful at revealing the most vital location of his work base and home. He suspected, Dorothy would be very upset to know if he lied. What more was randomly naming a location and Dorothy being there to confirm it did not exist. He suspected Dorothy may be his downfall in revealing the owner of Sandrock Investments. "Did you want to come visit?"

She was taken aback by the answer. "It's not in an office building?"

"No."

"When can I come over."

"Tonight."

She give him an amused look. "You telling me you work at home?"

Gods, he hope he did not sound as if he was luring her back to his house.

He nodded. "I guess you have to come see it." He almost smack himself for that reply for totally prompting a response. _Totally luring her._

On the other hand, Quatre did not know just how curious Dorothy was as to where Quatre lived and work so she agreed.

With quiet excitement, Dorothy scrutinized the home of Quatre's physically and practicality. Considering that he had a house on the Manhattan Island, she suspected that he had a pretty good job. It was nice size and looked well maintained. Above all, she was very interested to see the lifestyle of Quatre inside the house.

"It's not the biggest," like Dorothy four floors condo home, "but certainly suits my purposes," Quatre said turning to her. She waited patiently for Quatre to open the door. Besides a key, there was a keypad. There was quite a security around the house. He must have some treasure gem hidden away to go through such measures she thought.

But when he open the door and welcome her in, Dorothy saw nothing of prize assets lying around the house when Quatre flick on the lights. She remove her shoes and Quatre went in and hung his jacket up and offer to take Dorothy's coat and hung it up as well.

Dorothy took in her surroundings. It did not surprise her but she was pleasantly enjoying Quatre's company more and more as the weeks pass. She only admitted to herself that she felt something for the nerd boy back in high school. The recent events made her comfortable around Quatre because she usually bark orders at men and see them run off. Quatre was quiet, listened, and open. He spoke with knowledge and never argue with her but only press her to go on with her views while offering his own insights. He had a pleasant warmth around him that kept her at ease.

Looking around the house, she felt it complemented him exactly. It was very clean and tidy and quite furnished for a single man living alone.

"It looks very nice and cozy Quatre."

"Thank you. Come on in, did you want coffee?"

"No thank you. I won't be staying too long." She started to follow him down the hall.

"So here the standard living room." There was two couches and a table with a rug. "Here's the kitchen."

The kitchen was just as neat as the living room with all the necessary kitchenware and Dorothy felt very much at home here. "Do you cook?"

"Most of the time." He give her a brazen smile. And her mind took off, picturing Quatre's daily life at home. How he would make such a great father... She quickly berated her mind to stop thinking like that.

"And here's my office where I do all my work in." They walk towards a room next to the kitchen. He opened the door and the lights automatically turned on.

This was certainly where Quatre spent most of his time Dorothy observed. It was the most technicalogically advanced room in the house. She saw the monitors on the wall, the computer desk, another table by the wall, and the whiteboard and papers tack on the wall. It looked everything that anyone needed for a home office set up. It looked modernized too, the room Quatre must have renovated the most in. So this is why the need for higher security. Well of course, he was a banker. There must be lots of confidential information in this room store in the serves at the corner and the hard drives. Once again it was very neat and tidy. Her mind told her that she would hire him any day. She scolded her sub conscience again.

She slowly turn to him, "So you are a.."

"A private banker," he finished for her and explain why he did not work in an actual bank.

She nodded. "Banker or investor?"

Quatre felt his every word and action was carefully reviewed. "I bank for myself and others."

She swivel around and her head flew in the air and Quatre glaze at her. "Well, this looks wonderful. So you just work at home every single day of the week."

He nodded as he blushed. "Hence I have all the time in the world to meet up with you." He blushed.

"How long have you been here Quatre?"

"Almost a year, I say three-quarters. I went back home for a bit then decided to come back out to start my career."

Dorothy nodded in understanding. She had come and seen what she wanted. "Well, I have better get going. You do still remember the charity event?"

Quatre nodded.

"That's good, I'm hoping very much to see you there." She started briskly towards the front door. She pulled on her coat and just when she was going to reach the doorknob she saw his hand on there. She turn back and realized how close he was to her and suddenly felt trapped.

Usually Dorothy would be prepared for antics like this, but she never expected it from Quatre. Was he blushing really hard? She glazed into his intense and perhaps terrify blue orbs.

It took all his will but he managed, "I was wondering will you like to watch a concert with me on Tuesday next week?" There he said it and looked down because he could not face her eyes. His heart was beating super fast. He would know if Dorothy was interested in him with this reply but he was scare out of his wits.

"Yes."

He looked up at her. Did he heard what he thought she said. Yes really? Controlling his emotions from expressing just how internally delighted he was, he open the door casually for her. "I will text you the details when it comes closer. Good night Dorothy."

"Bye, it was good dinner and nice house again."

He watched her till she pull out of the drive way and away before closing the door and locking it.

She said yes! Did this mean he had a chance? Though thinking back to the first dinner she said nothing to convey they were a couple, he had slowly try to show his interest, while also battling the media, why also investing and making himself a humble millionaire. _She just thinks we are friends going to watch a movie, nothing much. _Ah! Whatever. He prey that he was right.

Quatre told Dorothy which theater it was. Before the show, he had called up his friend Trowa from the Orchestra group and purchased two tickets. His friend got him discounted tickets and they met up for the exchange.

Quatre was outside the entrance to the theater waiting for her arrival. When she did, Quatre nearly went breathless again at how elegant she looked in her dress. Dorothy observed that Quatre looked every bit a gentlemen dress in his black suit, white linen shirt with matching black tie that made his blonde hair looked stunning. She had noticed it a couple of times from their meetings. Quatre always dressed formal or business casual, but it suited him perfectly well.

Even she really did not know where her friendship was going with Quatre. They just reunited not long ago but she was seeing Quatre quite frequently these past few weeks. She have yet to say they were dating at all. Impossible. She and Winner? The quiet boy back from high school, what news that would make. She knew that Relena would tease her to no end if they got together. But she felt it too, the attraction to him was growing with each meeting. _You just can't wait to touch him._ Her sinister mind, back off, she told it.

"You look beautiful Dorothy," Quatre said.

"Thank you."

They watched the concert. The New York Orchestra. Quatre told her his friend was in it, the flutist, who at one part, had a solo role. So he had a friend? She was beginning to think that Quatre had no friends from what he said of moving to Manhattan and the fact that he worked at home every day. Being in her society, Dorothy had seen her share of orchestra music. Her cousin, Treize, love these formal shows.

After the show, Quatre drove her home. They arrived to the Romefeller Tower where she lived at the very top.

"Thank you Quatre, that was a very enjoyable concert."

She was about to open the door when she felt his hand on her arm so she turn back around. She looked at Quatre who seem to want to say something but could not. Did his eyes beg her to understand? She waited and the tension started building but he did not speak up so she turn back around to leave but was stop when she felt his other hand turn her face back towards him and felt his lips on hers.

When he pull back, Dorothy was in such a state of shock that when she did recover she immediately slapped Quatre across the face.

Quatre looked back in surprise at first, then sadness mar his features when he process what it meant.

He looked down guiltily and muttered, "I'm sorry."

He continued to look down, his blond bangs covering his eyes, and neither said a word. He looked in every way dejected that Dorothy instinctively felt sorry for slapping him.

Realizing that Dorothy had not storm out the door as he thought she would have and out of his life forever, he slowly raised his head. They were close, five inches apart the most. Dorothy was looking at him and his empathetic nature abilities had to fail him right there and then.

He felt a further need to say something and repair the situation while he can or he probably will not be seeing her again after tonight. Choking at his words, he said, "It won't happened again." _Not a chance with miss popular. Jeez, and that was his first kiss. _

They continued to stare at each other eyes though it was not long, time felt like eternality to Quatre. All of a sudden Dorothy close the distance and kiss him soundly on the lips again. Then she withdrew, open the door, and hastily said, "See you at the charity," before storming off to the entrance.

Quater watched her go in his stun poise. His emotions was running in total mixture. Was this rejection or acceptance? He think he felt the latter but he wasn't so sure and he was too afraid to ask at the moment so he drove straight home and right to bed.

He barely slept that night, thinking about her and what her actions meant. After many hours of mulling over her actions, he concluded the best way to know of her feelings was at the charity event. He would talk it out with Dorothy and ask her there. _Man up time Quatre.._ He was scared beyond his pants.

So he concentrated all his energy at work the next day, making some huge decisions with his heart in limbo.

* * *

Hope you like it. Reviews on ideas, opinions, support are always greatly appreciated. Do you think Dorothy knows who Quatre really is?


	3. Sandrock Investments 3

Originally this was suppose to be the last chapter but an idea sprung up for what I hope a better ending and I entirely scrapped the old one and re-wrote this one.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Sandrock Investments**

The charity was on Friday that week. The same day, newspaper around was printing a major headline in the financial world.

The charity event was held at Romefeller Tower, in one of the major conference hall.

Dorothy had risen early and had the television blaring in the background as she prepared herself for the day. The headline news went first. The anchor went on to say, "_It's official, Sandrock Investment stocks sky rocks." _Hearing the headline news, Dorothy turned up the volume and watched.

"_The owner is a billionaire. But seriously, who is this person? We have been following this captivating investor for a long time, but no one has yet the slightest clue on who this individual is. He has not done anything to break the law but his investing decisions are tactfully planned. Financial and economists are just diving to understand how he or she does it." _

For the most part a passport photo of an unknown person with a big question mark in the middle was pictured on screen emphasizing the successful unknown thrilling investor. A graph depicted the growth rate of Sandrock Investments, showing the money amount on the y-axis and the months on the x-axis.

Dorothy turned the television off.

He arrived alongside many well to do people, dress in a suit and carrying a thin computer with him. He barely took notice of the numerous people reading the breaking news on the streets and talking about the billionaire Sandrock Investor. He went in, showed his invitation card and sat down not knowing how to find Dorothy but suspecting she must be there to host the event. It was in the grand reception hall with seats line up in rows and the platform at the front. Refreshments were provided on both sides of the hall.

He surmise that he can probably catch her at the end. Chatters surrounded him and he survey the room full of people that seem to be acquainted with each other. He wonder vaguely was this some Romefeller cult as people looked at him like he was a new member to the club. He straighten his clothes.

Surprisingly, a few people did try to strike a conversation with him. They asked who invited him to the event. Did that really matter, he thought, maybe they were making sure he was in the right place, but apparently it did. Upon replying that Dorothy personally invited him trigger a profound effect as the men or women quickly soften up and talked to him openly as they reassess his connection to the Romefeller family and in turn position.

Gods, he was not in any way part of Romefeller. He figured a personal invite from Dorothy made him closest to Romefeller as other formal invitation was sent out on behalf of the Romefeller Foundation. Dorothy was also the one hosting the event. _And this is what you are trying to get into are you Quatre? No! I just want the girl._

Sadly, he disappointed any future friendships or partnerships as he had nothing much to say leaving others to think he was another inner circle of Romefeller aristocrats.

I suppose I can network right here thought Quatre. The room was full of elite people in New York. But he was never the one for that. Least said and fewer acquaintances, the safer Sandrock Investments will be.

The last couple of days were a drag for Quatre. He wanted to know but also did not know at the same time what Dorothy feelings were. Neither texted each other or emailed. He hope today can lead them somewhere.

The charity was part of the Romefeller Foundation raising money for children of less fortunate and third world countries. Speeches were made, videos were shown, and a luncheon was provided at break. Quatre lined up and speculated on what the rich eat. It was not sandwiches and finger foods but a buffet where you laden your plate with food. The food was from the upscale restaurant located in the middle of Romefeller Tower and it had a good selection, pastas, lasagna, chicken, roast beef, potatoes, fruits, bread, yoghurt and others. Quatre found it quite stifling considering they were just shown videos of the poor.

Quatre tried to get close to Dorothy several times but there was always a ring of people from her to him. Once he thought he made eye contact with her but she quickly turn away to talk to someone else.

The wall of people allowed Quatre to reflect the reality of things. Everything was a mistake, she doesn't want to be with me, he thought. _No, she is just too busy to deal with you. _For all he know, the kiss may have had less impact on her than it had on Quatre. After unsuccessful attempts because Dorothy was clearly too preoccupied for such a trifle matter, Quatre quell his heart to stop over thinking the situation.

He walked back to his seat and sat lonely for the rest of the event. At the end, he made one last attempt to approach her but realize there was a whole line of people waiting to talk to Dorothy and the press as well. There was no way he was going to get near. He doubted that she wanted to discuss that matter this evening nor would he want to in such an overly public forum. So he sat at a nearby seat, open up his laptop as people walk around him. From there he made his donation to Romefeller Foundation and quietly left.

Dorothy was exhausted after the long day. However, there were just a couple of more things left to do.

She was next to her executive assistant. Tapping away on the computer, the assistant said, "There is a lot of money raised this year."

"That is good to hear."

"Bring out those envelopes to print out the thank you letters and invitations for our top ten donors," Dorothy instructed.

Her assistant did as she was instructed and commanded the system to pull up the list of the top ten donors and statistics. "We beat the last year record of fundraising by a good twenty percent Dorothy."

"Really?"

"Yes, due in part by one particular donor." Her executive assistant was scrolling through the list and then gasp.

Dorothy, standing beside her assistant, looked down from her papers. "What?"

"This year highest donor is from Sandrock Investments at thirty million." Thirty million was a lot considering these were individual or family donations and the most was usually a couple millions.

Hearing the name of the donor made Dorothy heart stop. They did not accept corporate donation but clearly whoever Sandrock Investment owner was aim to indicate this personal donation was from him, whoever he is.

The assistant went on to say, "Wow, who ever knew. Is this Sandrock person first philanthropy to celebrate being a billionaire? I'm pretty sure he hasn't donated anything as of date, whoever he is. Did he want us to report it on the news to add to his ever growing image?"

All Dorothy did was stared at the screen as her mind raced. Sandrock Investments's owner was in the building today, underneath everyone noses as the media and surrounding guests constantly gossip about him or her. With further thought, the owner did not need to be physically in the building, they did accept outside donation but the ones at the forum were usually the ones who contributed substantial amount.

"How are we going to invite the owner Dorothy, there not a single address listed and he or she is the number one donor."

Dorothy thought for a moment. "I will take care of that, just invite the other nine to the thank-you dinner."

"Okay. Should we give him publicity for thanks instead?"

Dorothy thought only briefly and said, "No."

Dorothy went towards her desk to view the fundraising list for herself. Browsing along she saw Quatre's name, ranked twenty-one at five million. She was not surprised at Quatre's amount and then suddenly _remembered_ him_. _

_Quatre. _She had forgotten about Quatre today.

Wrong.

She did not forget him. She was just too preoccupied today for the execution of the fundraising event when the past two nights, all she kept thinking was about him. He had came, she saw him trying to get close to her but so many officials and guests wanted to talk to her. Then there was the media. Even when she made her speech, she was acutely aware of where he sat. She was mindlessly searching him out when she made the speech and when she did, she could not help but constantly look his way and around only to drift back to his area. He probably thought she was trying to avoid him after what happened two days ago. She thought she had a glimpse his disappointed look. No, she thought, he probably felt that she did not want him at all, yet...

How was she going to respond to him. Even she surprised herself with her impulsive action to kiss him back. This was getting into trickier bounds. She supposed she would ask him to meet up and apologize for not acknowledging his presence today and thank him for his contribution that beat eighty percent of all other donors. _Good thing I invited him. _

As she headed back up the floors to her home and prepared for bed, a small plan was brewing in Dorothy's head as she consider the possibilities. _Two can play this game Quatre. _

Quatre could say he was in the least, feeling disappointed. Dorothy had not messaged him at all afterwards even though he deeply hoped she would come to him that night but of course he must have been fantasizing.

He watched the news that evening as he sat in his office, eating his dinner. Nothing new was reported that he did not know having been at the event, but it was reported that they beat last year donation by twenty percent. He thought there might be a mentioning of a certain donor but that was not reported at all. Darn. He wanted to see Dorothy's reaction. He purposely donated twice, once under his own name to allay suspicions and the other in his alias investor name, in other words, himself again. He had hoped, upon seeing that, it would prompt Dorothy to come and tell him about it since he knew how Dorothy was following his news. And he certainly did not contribute a small amount either.

He went to bed feeling his friendship with Dorothy was winding down real fast. The feeling was heighten when he received an email the following day from Dorothy telling him that she was going to be away all of next week for business meetings.

At first, Quatre absorb the meaning hard for he was not a stupid boy to know what this meant. Cleary, Dorothy was keeping a distance from him already after he made a move and was too afraid to have a real encounter. And yet, the other side told him that she simply had business meetings. _Just have to keep waiting Quatre. You get your chance. _

That week went by slowly for Quatre. He kept thinking elaborate ways to see Dorothy again. Of course, there was always the option of revealing who he really was; Dorothy was totally going to dig that right? _What a coincident, she just so happens to have millions and billions too, she would not_ _care_. It would not work.

If he knew all along that becoming a billionaire would feel no different than he was less than a year ago, he would not have put so much effort. He had been driven since high school, his goal of being a billionaire investor on wall street. He never knew that upon obtaining his goal, it did not change anything at all except that he was richer than the day before. He shook his head in frustration and felt the urge to a sinister laugh. Money was certainly not bringing him any happiness. _Especially when you the girl you want has just about everything too. _

The foundation of his investments was solid. He just really needed to monitor his portfolio now. Should he acquire other companies he wasn't so sure. It will get out of his hand to manage such a large capital for one individual and he would need to expand. He was not interested in that and was content to just manage his own and live day by day sounded adequate to him. And send some money back to his father now that he had more than enough for one person.

He went strolling around the streets of Manhattan instead that week. He even dare venture all the way to Romefeller Tower and asked for Dorothy and have the assistant at the desk inform him that she was in deed, not in Manhattan. That trip was meant to silence his doubts that she was purposely avoiding him and it eased him up for the rest of the week to await her return.

Arriving home after a Thursday trek, he checked his mailbox before heading indoors. The first one was the electricity bill, the second was some advertisement, the third was a small flyer and the last one captured his attention in recognition of the Romefeller Foundation symbol on the envelope.

Automatically assuming that it was from Dorothy, he quickly opened up the crisp fine paper only to read the acknowledgement and sincere gratitude for his donation to the charity event. His energized eyes closed in when he realized what the paper was about and dropped it on the table. Of course Dorothy would not send him a letter to meet up, she had never done that and that be way too formal among friends. He was getting ahead of himself. He went to work instead to rid her off his mind.

Friday came and he was working away on his computer. He took a sip off his tea and placed it back on the saucer when a familiar ping indicated that he just received an email. Switching the screen to his inbox, his heart thudded when he saw Dorothy Catalonia name as the sender and a wave of emotions went through him in a second.

He quickly read over the message and felt a small swell of happiness when he realized that he would get to see Dorothy again without him initiating anything. Upon scanning the message over again, a small panic went through him when he saw the proposed meet up location next Tuesday.

_Central Park. _How revealing would that be? Didn't Dorothy want to keep themselves out of the paparazzi eyes? Central Park was the one and only park on Manhattan Island stretching through two dozen intersections, was as public as it can possibly be.

Thoughts swarm his head. _Maybe she not shy on becoming public with it. Does this mean a yes on her part? Was she even daring to expose themselves when they have not really settle things with each other? _

He rather prefer something away from the public eye but he did not want to sound like a coward to reply saying he was too scare to even take a walk in the park. Quatre knew this meeting was vital, he could not back out and offend her. _But there's bound to be someone recognizing Dorothy if they walk around Central Park._ And he would be next to her.

No, he cannot allow his fear override his will to see her. Knowing full well that Sandrock Investments owner was in a high stake of revelation he decided it did not matter.

If Dorothy was willing to go out in public with him, he decided to make bolder move on his part.

He saw her before she noticed his arrival. Though she had taken some effort to hide herself behind a pair of shades and a stunning brim hat over her head, he was certain that he could always spot her out of any crowd. In his eyes, there was always a glow around her. She held on to a purse and wore a comfortable dress and walking shoes. A week without seeing her, at that moment, was way too long.

Sensing his arrival, she turn in time to meet him and noted that she was able to perceive him when he was near to her. He wore a standard business casual ware she was accustoming to seeing him in. Beige pants with a black jacket over top. They were meeting at the 79th street entrance and she planned to walk northwards of the park.

She smiled up to him as he approached. He seemed to crimson already at the sight of her. _How easy is that Dorothy. _

"Hi," he said meekly.

"Hi Quatre, how are you?"

"Good. How was your trip last week?"

Leading the way, Dorothy started walking with Quatre beside her. "I won't call it trip. Business meetings are not consider leisure. But it was fine."

"Where did you go to?"

"Europe." She did not say that she saw Relena and during her whole meeting with her, she never once mentioned Quatre to her friend.

_Quatre. _He was becoming a pressing problem at hand lately without her realizing. How was he able to smoothly enter her comfortable life and cause chaos she was not so sure. She wanted to settle things with this man who she was sure had eyes for her. She knew what was probably on Quatre's mind as they stroll around the park.

Not once did she mention about the kiss in the car. In fact, the conversation that was happening was as if the kiss never happened and they were just friends. They were walking pass The Reservoir of the park. It was a beautiful day and the sun shone brightly, reflecting off the waters and the scenery around the pond. He was steadily building up the courage, sensing the need to take initiative again.

They stop and stare out across the waters to the greenery and buildings across.

She spoke. "Did you receive the letter from Romefeller?"

"The thank you card? Yes, I did."

"Well I like to thank you again personally for coming out and donating." She turn towards his face and he wonder did she give personal thank-you to every donor or just made an exception for him. _This isn't all about business right?_

He looked at her. "I apologized for not talking to you that day, I was very preoccupied."

He nodded in understanding. "I saw. It's alright." Though the pang in his heart told him it was not.

"Your amount was not a small donation at all. I wanted to treat you to dinner sometime when you are free to show my appreciation?"

As inviting the invitation was, he told himself that he should be the one treating her to dinner. _And_ _I'm always free when you are concern Dorothy. _

"That won't be necessary," he shook his head, "It was donated for the cause and I will happy so long as you put the money to good use," though he knew this was still an opportunity to continue seeing her.

It was about time to cut to the chase.

He started, "About the night of the concert -." He was abruptly cut short.

Dorothy raised a hand, looked him in the eyes and looked away. He felt the dread already seeping in.

Lowering her hand and facing the water she spoke. "I'm sorry if I lead you on Quatre. I will be honest and say that I have been thinking a lot about you lately, even all of last week. I acted impulsively that night. It was a mistake. I rather us to remain just friends."

_Just friends. _

Quatre felt that someone punch him in the gut and shot him directly at his tender heart. She did not feel the same about him. He decided to clarify it by asking straight up since they were already talking about it.

"Would you go out with me?"

He heard her intake of breath, surprised that he said the words straightforwardly. After a small moment which Quatre resigned as hesitation she said, "No. Not right now."

_Right now? What did that mean? _But he lost all reason. His brain was only processing the fact that Dorothy was rejecting him right here, wide out and in the most public place of all, Central Park. Guess he was never going to walk the only park in Manhattan to avoid a particular bad memory.

He tried again regardless. Right now meant he had a chance in the near future. _Right? _"Is there any reason? Or anything I need to do?"

But Dorothy was already shaking her head with downcast eyes. "No. It's not your fault. It's just I don't want to date."

His chest tighten and he took a step back. Clearly, Dorothy did not know that she held his heart and was squeezing it. He looked down to calm and remind himself to breathe. His hands were fisted in his pockets and it brush against a case. He grip the case with his hand hard to transfer his pain to it without showing too much outside. That was useless now that Dorothy was refusing him. _ And there is a good half of a walk left that he would now endure. _

"Are you alright?"

What a stupid thing to ask thought Quatre because obviously he was not. He waited so long, so long, so _very long _he bet Dorothy did not have the slightest idea. Never did he tell the world his second reason that out of all the places in the world, he decided to settle in Manhattan. He knew it was a far stretch but he tried anyway and got this close…_this_ close. His heart was crippling.

Refraining from showing the hurt in his eyes he replied, "I'm okay. Let's walk." He turn back the path they were following. He needed to before he started running off as a coward boy back from high school.

As they continue the walk, he forgot all his worries about whether there were reporters lurking or if anyone recognize Dorothy. He was too distracted to care. In fact, he rather have someone spotting them and making news about them.

The light mood from before dissipated and he was tense. Dorothy felt the change in him and instinctively felt sorry and almost went about retracting her comments right there and then. But she kept up a strong front though it did not help the situation.

She looked at him, alert and intense eyes looking far ahead. His hands were stuff in his pockets and his movements were stiff.

The rest of the walk and conversation became painful. Quatre replies became short and curt though he did try to remain nice like he always is when he realized that he was making things hard. The chatter and movement around them became deaf to Quatre's ears. His mind was tossing in the air from rejection that he never felt since he never had asked anyone before.

Approaching the end of the walk, at the North Entrance of the park, Dorothy could say she was visibly relieved. Sad and stiff Quatre was certainly not a happy sight to see. She felt awful for making him feel this way but at the same time observing in quiet amusement. He looked sad at first but later on she rather term the word _angry_ replacing the disappointment she was expecting. And angry Quatre was quite a pleasant surprise to see though he kept most of the unknown anger to himself.

She had arranged for her chauffeur to pick her up and the car was waiting at the side of the street. They made their way towards her car.

"Well that is it for today Quatre, thank you for coming."

Quatre, looking distant still, nodded. She waited for him to look up but he did not.

Sighing, she pulled out an envelope from her purse. "This is for you," she said as she moved the envelope to his line of vision and he slowly looked up.

With a numb hand, he grasp the coarse envelope a bit too hard that it scrunch from his hold. "Okay." Feeling the need to say more, "Have a safe drive back," he said without fully meaning it.

His eyes were fill with emotion and he looked at her in such longing betraying his beautiful features, almost begging, for her to reconsider her earlier decision. _Yes, beautiful and you just rejected him Dorothy._ She pushed the thought aside.

"I will. Thank you for coming out today."

He would not have if he knew it was going to turn out like this.

"I will see you soon." With that she got into her car and it started off.

He looked down at the envelope in his hand. Was this another thorough rejection letter? Detailing why they could not be together? If it was that she could have just handed this from the start but being personal about it was always better. He supposed.

Expecting just that, and with a wrenching heart, he opened the envelope that had his name nicely scribe on the front by Dorothy's calligraphy. She had nice writing. Who would have known?

He unfolded the paper, one-third down and one-third up.

His eyes froze as he became transfixed on the first word and the rest of the letter.

_Dear Sandrock Investments, _

_A contact was not provided in our records along with Sandrock Investments donation, so I decided to hand you this in person. _

_Thank you for your donation to the charity event hosted by Romefeller Foundation. Your thirty-five million dollars will be ensured to be used to the fullest potential and you will be given reports on how it is spent. Many lives depend on donations such as yours to make the world a better place._

_Annually, our top ten donors are invited to a thank-you dinner reception entirely hosted by Romefeller. You are ranked as the highest donor for this year event and I decided to make an exception for you. To express my sincere gratitude and appreciation of your contribution I, Dorothy Catalonia, personally invite you to a private dinner tomorrow at my home in Romefeller Tower at 6:30pm. My attendant will be aware of your presence and you simply need to tell her. _

_I will be waiting for you._

_Till tomorrow,_

_Dorothy Catalonia _

His mind, moments before dripping in melancholy, was now alight with, out of all things, _cold_ _fear_.

He did not donate thirty-five million under Sandrock Investments name. The amount added his personal contribution.

The buzz of the usually busy streets of Manhattan became muted to his ears as his eyes darted down the path that Dorothy left, somehow expecting her to be right there to explain the letter.

But she was not there. She already left.

Instead, what became noticeably prominent was the gleam of sunset radiating off the top of Romefeller Tower, far down the very road where Dorothy was heading home.

He was certain not a single soul knew. He had been meticulously careful.

It was impossible.

No way. Out of all people.

_How did __**she**__ know?_


End file.
